


Borrowed and Blue

by purajobot935



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: Boarding School, Dalton Academy, Fights, First Crush, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, School Uniforms, Schoolboys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-29
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-15 06:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purajobot935/pseuds/purajobot935
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justin arrives in Westerville, Ohio to start his first day of school at Dalton Academy. Unfortunately things don't go quite according to plan. Good thing Charlie chose to run along... </p><p>Based on, and characters from CP Coulter's "Dalton".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Borrowed and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> First attempt at writing fic for the Chustin Tank about a year ago. Originally published on Tumblr.

Justin straightened the lapels of his new school blazer with his free hand as he stepped onto the pavement and the large Greyhound coach rolled away behind him. He looked around the literally small town of Westerville and sighed. It was just past six in the morning and most of the town’s inhabitants still seemed to be asleep.

Reaching up to his throat he loosened the knot of his red and navy tie a fraction, then stifled a yawn and sighed. He missed England already. He could have been comfortably asleep in his bed right now, but no… he had had to settled for a cheap motel and a reclined bus seat. At least the coffee shop seemed to be open.

Ugh. American coffee. He had yet to come across a place that sold a decent brew. Give him good old English tea any day.

He pushed open the door to the Lima Bean – interesting name, given that Lima was at least an hour’s drive away – and went inside, duffle in one hand and backpack over a shoulder. ‘Westerville Bean’ probably didn’t have the same ring to it, he mused as he stood in line to order.

He noticed a couple of other boys in the same uniform he was wearing, a few girls in blue, white and yellow uniforms, and another group of boys and girls in various combinations of green and white. Interesting. So there were other schools in the area, too. He watched as the two similarly dressed boys finished the last of their coffees, picked up their stack of books and notes, and headed for the door without giving him a second glance. He thought they looked stressed. Shrugging, he picked up his hazelnut latte and headed for the table they had just vacated.

Halfway through his latte and properly waking up, two boys in green and white approached his table. A quick glance told him they were jocks. Great. He continued to sip at his latte – it was decent for a small town coffee shop – hoping they’d go away if he ignored them. He wasn’t in a particularly chatty mood.

“You’re in our seat,” one of them sneered, nudging his chair.

Justin’s eyebrow twitched, but he forced himself to remain calm. The whole point of him coming here was to avoid getting into fights. Punching the daylights out of two stupid jocks as soon as he arrived would kind of defeat the purpose.

“Yeah, so why don’t you run along back to gay Hogwarts, prep boy?” jock two added.

Bristling, but trying not to show it, Justin sighed, picked up his bags and coffee cup and started to head to the exit. There was a shuttle bus to the school that was scheduled to come by soon anyway. He could wait for it outside.

Unfortunately, someone up there must have decided it was pick-on-Justin day today. He made it outside, noting that the sun was only just starting to peek over the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. He dropped his bags on the bench and wrapped both hands around his slowly cooling coffee cup, watching his breath fogging in the chilly morning air.

“Check it out: preppy boy ran away like the little fag that he is.” That was jock two again.

Justin took a long drink of his coffee before turning to face the two who had followed him outside. Sometimes a guy just had to draw the line.

“I’m sorry, were you gentlemen castrated as babies?” he asked in the most snobbish accent he could muster. “Because that is the only reason I can think of for you two not having reached puberty yet.” He tossed his coffee in the rubbish bin. “Wait, was that too complicated for you to understand? I could break it down to smaller words if you’d like.”

“I’m gonna break your face!” jock one snarled.

Both of them lunged for him at the same time, and as he raised his arms to defend himself all he could think of was how he hadn’t even been in America 48 hours before getting into a fist-fight. His family was not going to be happy if they found out.

It also surprised him how easily all his fight instincts came back, even as he drove an elbow into a ribcage and slammed a knee into a solar plexus. Not necessarily a good thing if he wanted to make a fresh start in this new school, he thought as he knocked one jock back with an upper-cut to the jaw.

And then suddenly he was face-down in cold, dirty water with the second jock driving a knee into his back. Justin winced. That was going to leave a bruise. A sneakered foot drew back, aiming for his face. Justin wasn’t sure he could block or dodge it in time.

He didn’t have to.

The weight suddenly lifted off his back and he saw the jock go tumbling past him. There was the sound of another scuffle and he longed to jump back into it, but his back protested any sudden movement so he stayed still till the pain faded to a more bearable throb.

By this time, whoever it was that entered the fray had sent the two jocks packing and was now coming towards him. Wanting to know who his savior was, Justin gingerly rolled onto his back – and looked up into the brightest cornflower-blue eyes he had ever seen.

“Well… that was a good workout,” the boy said, smiling an easy smile. “Nothing like cracking a couple of St. Patricks’ jocks’ heads together to work up an appetite for breakfast, huh?” He extended a hand.

Justin accepted the gesture and got to his feet, trying not to stare. The other boy was about his height and age, quite well-built like himself, and had thick brown hair that was just a little bit long. His eyes, though blue, were surprisingly warm and kind. He was dressed in black sweatpants and a varsity hoodie jacket over a school’s athletics t-shirt – the same school Justin himself was heading to…. Oh….

“Uh… thanks,” he said, and winced internally. Real smooth, Justin.

“From out of town, huh?” the boy asked, brushing back a few errant strands of hair from his face.

Justin gave a wry smile. “Yeah….” He blamed his aching back for his less-than-intelligent answers. “How could you tell?”

The boy grinned. “Totally not the accent, I promise.”

He smiled. “Flew in from England yesterday. Was trying to make my way to school when those two idiots jumped me. What’s their problem anyway?”

“School rivalry. Mostly it’s contained within the sports arenas, but once in a while they cross the boundaries. So, heading to Dalton?”

“That was the plan anyway,” Justin replied, then looked down at himself and grimaced at the state of his uniform. “Bugger it.”

The other boy picked up the duffle and started walking. “C’mon, I parked around the corner. Good thing I drove to town for coffee before my run. You look like you could use the ride.”

Justin could do nothing but grab his backpack and follow the American boy to where he’d parked his truck – a large, black GMC Topkick. Impressive. The boy placed the duffle and backpack on the back seat, then ran around and got in on the driver’s side.

“Climb aboard! He’s not as intimidating as he looks!” he called.

Having no other real choice, Justin hauled himself into the passenger seat and buckled himself in. The boy stretched his right hand to him.

“I’m Charlie, by the way. Charlie Amos.”

“Justin Bancroft,” he replied and shook his hand.

Charlie grinned and kicked the truck into gear, pulling out onto the road. “So what’s your story, English? What brings you all the way across the Pond to this little cow-town school?”

Justin grimaced. “I have a Legacy. My grandparents figured that sending me to Dalton would keep me out of trouble and away from bad company.”

“Welcome to the club.” Charlie smiled wryly.

“Does it work?” Justin was a little surprised to find himself sounding hopeful.

Charlie seemed to consider this for a moment. “Yeah,” he said at last. “Yeah, I’d say it does. It’s actually nice to be able to take your shirt off and not see bruises everywhere, and not have to explain them away, y’know?”

Justin nodded, pleasantly surprised to have found someone with whom he had something in common. He’d thought no one in this private school would have understood. At least now he didn’t feel so alone anymore.

“I’d like to be able to stop fighting all the time,” he told Charlie. “I’d like to stop getting dragged into fights, especially ones that aren’t mine.”

The other boy glanced at him. “Dalton’s a good place for a fresh start,” he said. “Speaking of which, here we are.”

Justin looked out through the front and side glass at the old manor-like school as they passed through the gates that opened automatically for them. The gardens looked immaculate, and the red brick and concrete architecture of the school reminded him a little bit of home.

“Cow-town school huh?”

Charlie grinned and shrugged. “The big building up ahead is South and Main,” he explained as they drove past. “That’s where the administration and all the classrooms are. The smaller buildings are the dorms. The one on the left, past the hedge, is Hanover.” Charlie turned right. “The one in the clearing that we’re headed to is Windsor. That’s where I board.”

“Oh, will I be housed there, too?” Justin asked. He sort of hoped he would be – at least he’d have a friend there.

“I don’t know,” Charlie replied honestly. “Admin usually does an assessment and then assigns you to a house. You’ll know once you talk to the Dean.” He pulled into a parking spot close to Windsor and killed the engine.

The Dean… Justin realized he was in no state to meet the head of the school with his uniform in its current condition, and he certainly would not like to tell the dean it got this way because he got into a fight soon after arriving from England.

“I… I can’t,” he said.

Charlie paused halfway out of the truck.

“My uniform,” Justin explained. “I only have this one right now. The rest of my things including three more sets of uniforms are only arriving tomorrow once I’ve settled in. I don’t have a spare to change into to see the dean and if they ask about this one…”

The other boy looked him over from head to foot, then smiled. Justin blushed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Charlie said. “Come with me. Leave your stuff, we can get it once we know which House you’ll be in.”

Justin snatched up his backpack and hopped out of the truck, following Charlie up the steps and into Windsor House. He was met with a wall of noise as boys scrambled to get to where they had to go – the early risers rushing to class, the late ones to the kitchen for breakfast and those in the middle stopping to talk and catch up with each other.

In the middle of it all stood a boy calling out orders, giving instructions, and now and then turning a lost freshman in the right direction. He looked at them as they came in and raised an eyebrow at Charlie after glancing at Justin.

“New arrival,” Charlie said. “Couple of St. Patricks’ got him at the Lima Bean. I’m just gonna help him out.”

The boy nodded and waved them on, turning to deal with another boy who ran up with some sort of smouldering contraption. Justin stared as Charlie ushered him up the stairs.

“Usual Windsor madness,” he said. “You get used to it… and that was Peter, the House Prefect.”

Justin could only nod, and then blushed furiously when Charlie took his hand and led him down a corridor and into a room. He couldn’t for the life of him even understand why he was reacting like this. Last he had checked he still liked looking at girls. There was nothing special at all about this boy except for the fact that he was American… oh, and those blue eyes.

“So you have your own room?”

“Had. Supposed to have a new roommate coming in tonight,” Charlie replied. “Might even be you if you get into Windsor.”

He went to a closet and pulled out a fresh uniform set and a towel, tossing them on his bed before taking out another set and laying it on a desk so he could pin a little blue shield streaked with yellow to the lapel of the blazer.

“I think you’ll be able to fit in one of my uniforms. Bathroom’s down the hall, fifth door on the right.”

Justin was a little stunned. “I… Charlie, I… What about you?”

Charlie grinned as he took off his jacket. “I still have two more spare sets of uniforms in there. You can just pass this one back to me when your own arrive.”

“I… thank you.” Justin smiled back, grabbed the towel, shirt, pants and his backpack and headed to the door, trying not to stare too hard at the other boy.

“No worries, English. Dump the dirty stuff in my laundry basket over there.” He pointed to a corner of the room.

Justin nodded and ducked out. He located the bathroom easily enough and upon going in, saw that it was a communal one – big and with about five shower stalls, an equal number of sinks and toilet stalls. Well it made sense, what with a whole dorm-full of boys, some of whom could take just as long as girls did to get ready in the mornings.

He left his backpack on a bench outside the farthest shower stall and hung up the shirt and pants before undressing, grabbing essentials and ducking into the stall. The warm water felt more than a little divine on his tired body, and he let himself relax at last. This was a good school, with nice dorms; the boys seemed decent enough and he’d already made a new friend in Charlie. Maybe he’d found a place he could belong to at last.

Lost in daydreams and relaxation, he only barely noticed when the bathroom door opened to admit someone who, after a moment, stepped into the shower stall beside his one. He didn’t pay attention – after all, this was a boys’ dorm and boys probably came in and out all the time – and the high screen partitions prevented him from seeing who it was. He was still rinsing his hair when the other shut off the water and stepped out.

Justin took his time drying off and changing before securing the towel around his waist and stepping out of the stall. 

It was all he could do to not have a heart attack right then and there.

Charlie stood in front of one of the long mirrors in only his pants, his white shirt hanging off his elbows and his long-ish hair hanging damp, framing his face. Justin could see the beginnings of a six-pack on that bare torso – possibly from all the sports he did – and he swallowed hard, his cheeks burning.

The other boy turned and twisted to look back and down at his shoulder blade where a bruise was forming from the morning’s fight, and Justin tried very hard not to stare. Well damn, girls were the furthest things on his mind right now.

“… you feeling?” Charlie was asking.

He snapped back to attention. “Oh, much better. Hopefully this will stave off the impending jet lag a few more hours,” he replied. “You’re hurt though…” He turned around to pull on his own pants… well technically they were Charlie’s pants… oh no, not going there.

“Likewise,” Charlie replied. “Got a nasty-looking bruise on your back. C’mere…”

Blinking, Justin went, holding his shirt. Charlie was unwrapping what looked to be a big, white plaster that he gently placed over the bruise once he’d turned Justin around. A gentle coolness spread into his skin and helped to ease the pain a bit. Oh, so that’s what the plaster did. Then he remembered Charlie’s shoulder.

“Here, let me,” he said before he quite realized what he was doing.

He unwrapped another plaster as Charlie smiled a thank you and presented him with the afflicted shoulder blade. Justin tried not to think of how smooth his skin was as he stuck the plaster on. He quickly turned around and finished dressing while Charlie tugged his shirt on and buttoned it up.

There was a moment of silence that followed during which Justin couldn’t help but wonder if this was all too good to be true, and he wasn’t being set up for some kind of newbie prank.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked quietly.

For his part, Charlie looked genuinely surprised, but not offended. In fact, glancing up at those kind, blue eyes, Justin noted that he actually seemed to understand why Justin would ask such a question.

“No one’s going to hurt you here,” Charlie said. “For one, Dalton has a zero-tolerance, no-bullying policy. Usually enforced.” He started to knot his tie. “For another… I wouldn’t stand by and let them. For myself… well I was the new kid a couple of weeks back, and given what I was about a year before coming here… let’s just say that this whole ‘being nice’ thing is actually kind of… nice.” He smiled, leaving the tie a little loose near his collar. “Besides, I really like the accent.” He winked.

Justin vehemently told himself those were NOT butterflies in his stomach. “I… thanks.”

He picked up his things and followed Charlie back to his dorm room where he dumped the towel and the dirty uniform in the laundry and put on clean socks and his shoes. Charlie had both their blazers in hand.

“I really hope they place you in Windsor,” he said.

Justin took his blazer and slipped it on. It smelled nice. “So do I.”

Charlie smiled as they headed out together. “Then let’s get you to the Dean.”

=====

It wasn’t as bad as Justin thought it would be, and as he came down the steps of South and Main he was rather pleased to find Charlie there waiting for him, looking a little flushed and sweaty like he’d run over to make it in time. His blazer was open and part of his shirt was untucked and Justin had never seen anyone look so adorably messy before.

“So?” Charlie asked, looking hopeful.

“Hanover.” Justin replied with a sad smile.

“Oh…” Charlie looked a little disappointed, and Justin felt that flutter again. “That’s all the way across campus. We might as well be on either side of the Pond again, English.”

Justin nodded, fully aware of the distance it would put between him and his new… friend. “It’s not as bad as that. And, from what you’ve told me, at least I should be glad I’m not in Stuart right?” He tried to lighten the mood.

Charlie couldn’t help but give a little smile. “Oh, definitely.” He clapped Justin on the shoulder. “Let’s go get you moved in. Got your class schedule yet?”

Justin handed him a sheet of paper and Charlie quickly scanned through it before breaking into a wide grin. Justin raised an eyebrow curiously.

“What?”

“Your schedule is about 70% identical to mine.” At Justin’s confused look, he added, “We take a lot of the same subjects; we’re gonna be sharing quite a few classes together.”

“Oh!” Realization hit Justin. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all – he’d still get to see Charlie often. “That’s good news then.”

They reached Charlie’s truck and while the other boy reached in to get the duffle, Justin fumbled with his new House pin – no thanks in part to Charlie leaning over the back seat in order to grasp the bag. Maybe he’d have to look into this whole liking girls thing again because Charlie was definitely making him question that notion.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it however, because Charlie turned around and handed him his bag… before taking the pin from his hand.

“Here, let me.”

In one swift motion, he had his hands on Justin’s blazer, and was pinning the gold-bordered white shield-crest to the lapel. Justin swore it was the mid-afternoon sun that made his cheeks go pink.

“Thanks.”

“There.” Charlie stepped back. “You’re a proper Dalton boy now.”

“Guess I am.” He smiled a little.

It was still all sinking in – that he was America, going to an all-boys boarding school; that this was his second chance to try and get thing right; that for the next few years he was on his own….

Then Charlie’s hand was on his back, steering him back to South and Main. Well… not totally alone then. He had Charlie, and at the very least it looked to be the start of an awesome friendship – he just needed to stop blushing every time the American boy looked at him with those maddeningly blue, blue eyes.

They stopped in front of the main school building – somehow Charlie’s arm had found its way around Justin’s shoulders – and both of them glanced at each other, Charlie lowering his arm and releasing him. From here they’d be going separate ways. Justin hefted his bag, hesitating slightly. Charlie gave a bit of a laugh.

“Well go on. I promise the Hanovers won’t harm you. From what I hear they’re the most peaceful of the three Houses, you’ll be perfectly safe.” He winked.

Justin gave a bit of a snort. “I can take care of myself, thanks.” He took a few steps away, then stopped and looked back. “So I’ll see you around?”

Charlie positively beamed at him. “You bet, English!”

“And stop calling me that!”

“Whatever you say, Little Britain.”

“Can we stop with the country jokes, America?!”

“Well… we did-.”

“If you bring up that stupid war, I’m going to key your truck!”

Charlie held up his hands in mock surrender, blew him a playful kiss, then turned and ran off towards Windsor, laughing. Justin watched him go before turning back towards Hanover.

Yep… this was going to be one interesting adventure….

~END.


End file.
